Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Junior outfielder Mike McCann drove in all of Manhattan's runs, while freshman starter Eric Luksis gave a remarkable effort on the hill as the Jaspers completed a series sweep of Niagara (13-29, 9-9 MAAC) with a 4-2 victory on Sunday. Mark Onorati recorded his 200th career hit in a 3-for-4 effort as Manhattan (24-13, 10-5 MAAC) extended its win streak to eight games and improved to a perfect 9-0 at Van Cortlandt Park.
The Jaspers wasted little time before getting on the board in the first inning. Onorati recorded his milestone base hit, which was followed by Chad Salem's 10th double of the year, setting the stage for McCann's three run bomb over the right field fence. It was McCann's second home run of the series with the Purple Eagles and seventh this season giving Manhattan a 3-0 lead.
Luksis cruised through eight innings, recording a career-high eight strikeouts along the way. The lefty from Wappingers Falls, N.Y. only blemish of the day came in the second inning when he gave up a solo home run to Purple Eagles' second baseman Jason Cramer and a RBI single to right fielder Adam Wagner making it a 3-2 ballgame. Luksis quickly settled down and limited Niagara to just three hits over the next six innings leading to his third win of the season.
In the fifth inning, McCann delivered his ninth RBI of the series with a two-out single extending the Jaspers' advantage to 4-2. He finished 3-for-4 from the plate in his 11th multi-hit performance of the year.
Manhattan turned the ball over to freshman reliever John Soldinger to close the game in the ninth. Soldinger retired three of four batters faced for his league leading seventh save.
Onorati had a stellar series against the Purple Eagles batting .700 (7-for-10) with six runs scored and two stolen bases. He elevated his MAAC leading batting average to .426. Freshman shortstop Nick Camastro complemented Onorati hitting .545 (6-for-11) over the three game stretch.
The Jaspers return to Van Cortlandt Park on Tuesday to host NYIT at 3:30 p.m. Manhattan resumes conference play next weekend in Buffalo when the Jaspers face off with first place Canisius.
